In the vending of beverages from vending machines, particularly those beverages packaged in cans, bottles, or generally similar symmetrical containers, the display panels of the vending machines involved should perform certain point-of-purchase functions. For example, the nature of the products vended should be instantly apparent to a potential customer. The identify of the source or origin (manufacturer) of the products being vended should be either directly provided or provided by means such as logos or other symbolic means suggestive thereof.
Further, if there is a primary product for which the vending machine has more capacity or for which greater sales volume is desired, the vending machine should be capable of encouraging the selection of this product over the other products (secondary products) present in the machine.
Vending machines of this general type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,380,130 and 4,414,768, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
The display panel face of such a vending machine should also be capable of containing other utilitarian areas in optimum locations for providing such things as point-of-sale advertising, coupon dispensers, video games, and the like, such as described in prior copending application Ser. No. 327,461, filed Dec. 4, 1981, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,670 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
In the vending machines described in each of the aforementioned U.S. Patents and application, the product selector switches comprise spring-biased actuating buttons which protrude from the face of the vending machine and include many complex moving parts and interconnections to the associated vending machine control panel structure, and the associated electrical circuitry which initiates the vend of a product. Because of this large number of moving parts and interconnections, these selector switch arrays are relatively expensive and prone to failure under heavy use.
Accordingly, it is desirable to eliminate the number of mechanical parts known heretofore in selector switch arrays, and to reduce the number of electrical and mechanical connections of these selector switch arrays within the vending machine.